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Toovey questions role of touch judges

Darren Walton

Manly coach Geoff Toovey questioned the worth of modern-day touch judges after watching star centre Steve Matai injured in a suspect tackle a month out from the NRL finals.

Matai lasted barely five minutes before being forced out of Friday night's top-of-the-table clash with South Sydney at the SCG with a potentially serious shoulder injury.

Souths forwards Issac Luke and George Burgess are likely to come under the scrutiny of the NRL's match review committee for an alleged "chicken wing" tackle on Manly's backline enforcer.

After airing concerns about how the Rabbitohs "wrestled the crap" out of Manly in the first half, Toovey was asked if wrestling also played a role in Matai's injury.

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"I'll have to have a look at it. I'll have to see what happens," he said.

"I don't know what the role of the touch judge is anymore. They don't worry about the 10 (metres in defence), they don't worry about the offside on kicks ... I don't know."

Toovey said Matai felt he'd been placed in a precarious position in the tackle and he was unsure about the full extent of the injury.

Souths' 23-4 victory cut Manly's competition lead to just two points, but Toovey was more concerned about how the Rabbitohs were allowed to slow the ruck down to suit their power game.

He accused the referees of being inconsistent with their ruck interpretation and said he was happy for the Rabbitohs to take the title as new premiership favourites following their four-tries-to-one rout.